


Dadcher Oneshots Collection

by IscaRedspider



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Dadcher, Gen, Hat Kid is precious bean!, Papa Snatcher, Second PoW, i love torturing the fluffy noodle yep, lots of crying in some, yeah most of these are angst you been warned!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:35:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21836035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IscaRedspider/pseuds/IscaRedspider
Summary: A small collection of Dadcher short stories based on promts that people are sending me Tumblr.Most angst, but I'm planing to write something fluffy too!) I hope you like those! ^^---Just in case, English isn't my native language, so there might be mistakes and odd choice of words in some places.If you wanna see my aHiT fan comic ( and my art in general), it's @IscaRedspider on both Twitter and Tumblr :)Enjoy! <3
Relationships: Hat Kid & Snatcher (A Hat in Time)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 139





	1. Shadow Puppet

**Author's Note:**

> ''Kid, I'm sorry... I-I'm so-sor-sorry... I didn't... I couldn't...'' *Hat Kid looks at Snatcher with a very weak expression, blood trickling down her head* ''Sn... Snatcher... It's o-oka--'' ''No! It's not! You-You're! You're! You're....'' send by Anonymous
> 
> Warning: serious injures and near death experience!

It’s a quiet day in Subcon Forest, you are sitting in your chair, reading your favorite book. 

It was nice to take a break from intruders or the kid, even though you've found yourself enjoying her company more and more.  
Not that you would say this out loud.

Somehow this alien child managed to worm her way into your core. No matter how much you denied it or tried to fight back, your affection towards her grew only stronger.

You have no idea why!

Maybe it’s because you’re tired of everything. Same routine, day after day, for decades. Terrorizing random fools became old and not as fun as it used to.

Maybe it’s because she awoken feelings you buried long ago. You planned to have a child with Vanessa when you were alive. Perhaps you parental instincts kicked in.

Maybe both.

You sigh, the big change is coming and it’ll be better if you accept it, even if it means you'll have to swallow your pride. It won't be easy.

Suddenly, a strange feeling overflowed your chest. You never felt this before: it was like a tiny void, slowly but steady swallowing anything inside you, leaving nothing behind, growing only bigger. It felt like you about to lose something important. 

It didn’t hurt, but it was uncomfortable, making you anxious.

“Snatcher…” a sudden call made you jump you in a chair, dropping the book in the process.

“Help..” What the heck this? You didn’t hear with your ears, you heard this with your very being!

Focusing your mind on the growing emptiness, you have found a source of this.

It is…a contract? And not just any contract, but the one the kid messed with!

You stared at the paper with puzzled expression. How? Why?!

But then you quickly realized: the contract binds you and the kid together. Just like it binds you and your minions.

You felt the call again, this time much clearer! She needs you, and before your pride could protest, you already focused on the bond you two share to find where she is. Then you dove into shadows, moving through this realm as quickly as possible.

When you emerged from the floor, you were greeted with unpleasant sight.

Some tall grey cat, with weapon on one hand, holding the child with her other hand. Then she slammed the kid against the wall. The kid made a painful cry upon impact and fell on the floor.

Your core went on fire instantly, sending a row of death lasers in cat’s direction. Sadly, the attacker heard what’s coming and somehow dogged it, looking at you with shock and confusion. You growled, your mane puffed and you talons grew longer. Before you could something else, the cat retreated. You dashed after her, but a small whimper stopped you instantly.

Right, the kid!

In second you were by her side, inspecting her injuries. That wasn’t looking good at all: her left arm was bending in unnatural direction, various cuts on her legs, face, arms were bleeding. The kid struggled to breath, her expressing kept twisting in pain. She looked so beaten up it made your core squeeze painfully, even your attempts to kill her in the past weren't that bad! This is bad, that made you realize what emptiness growing in inside you meant.

Panic filled your mind, there is no way this is happening!

She opened her eyes and smiled upon seeing you.

“You came…” she said weakly.

Why is she smiling, you were too late! You are huge freaking idiot, who forgot how your own contracts worked! If you haven’t spent time trying to figure this out, maybe you could prevent this!

“Kid, I’m sorry… I-I’m so-sor-sorry… I didn’t… I couldn’t…” you struggle to speak as she looked at you with a very weak expression, blood trickling down her head. 

“Sn… Snatcher… It’s o-oka–” she whispered, having no strength to talk.

“No! It’s not! You-You’re! You’re! You’re….” a sob caught your throat, interrupting you as tears began burning in your eyes.

She is dying and it is your fault! You don’t know what to do!

You can’t make healing pons, you can’t heal at all! 

You can’t dive into shadows with her, that will kill her instantly! 

Not to mention that you were in some sort of dark basement, deep underground! You can't sense any healing pons around, she will die even before you reach the surface for help!

Sure, you could take her soul and put it into a doll like you did with your minions, but she won’t be the same…

If a child dies from horrible death, their soul become a dweller. And becoming a dweller is worse than death itself: not remembering anything about life, not reacting to outside world, no feeling, not talking….just existing. A doll maybe fixes the feeling issue, but it won’t bring her memories and personality back.

With shaking hands, you gently picked the kid up and held her close to your chest. She’s not moving anymore, growing weaker and weaker every second.

Tears are falling like waterfalls as sobs shaking your spectral body.

This isn’t fair, why life always must take away important things from you? Was it punishment for killing hundreds of people before? A punishment for pushing her away every time she wanted to spend time with you? 

This is what happens when you listening to your pride instead of your heart! 

You had a chance to be happy, and now you are about to lose it forever!

You closed your eyes, your soul is drowning in grief. You wish could do something, anything! You would give up everything, you would kill anyone, you would exchange your life for hers if this would save her now. 

She is your child, a tiny flame of hope in your miserable existence, and don’t want to let go. You don’t want to say goodbye!

Upon this thought, a small spark of determination ignited in your core.

No, you refuse! You are not letting her die!

You looked down at the child in your arms, her weakened gaze was locked on yours. Suddenly you had an idea that crazy enough to work. 

Your closed your eyes and focused on your inner energy. Then focused on kid’s heart and began pouring your life force into her body. She gasped, her body tensed, holding onto your mane.

You don’t know what you are doing, but it’s working! The emptiness stopped spreading and began disappearing. You start feeling dizzy, this process is draining you immensely, but you refuse to stop! 

Not until your kid is safe!

Suddenly, you collapsed on the cold floor, ringing filling your ears.

You feel the kid squirming in your hold, calling your name over and over. You slowly open your eyes and look at her. Her body is purple, like yours. Her eyes and month are glowing yellow, just like yours. Her left arms is functioning properly, you do not see any injuries at all. 

Whatever you did, it worked! The kid lives!

“Snatcher, say something!” she panicked, her eyes began filling with tears. You stare at her for few moments, then slowly sit up, still holding her tight.

“Kid, how do you feel?” you croaked, feeling weak and anxious. You hope you didn’t made things worse somehow!

“I…” she paused, noticing that she’s purple now.” I feel fantastic! What did you do?!” 

She looked like a tiny reflection of you, like as if she was your daughter. This thought felt so nice, that even your stupid pride couldn’t taint it.

“I don’t really know. I gave you my energy, but I have no idea…” you look at her with worried expression. Partly because you didn’t not expect anything coming out of this. Partly because she’ll probably be mad at you for changing her without her permission. The second thought scared you much more.

“I’m sorry, kid! I panicked!” you quickly went explaining yourself. “I couldn’t let you die! I don’t want to be alone, I need you!”

Her eyes widened, seeing fresh tears falling from your eyes. 

Damn, you are emotional mess!

“Snatcher…” she sniffed before hugging you tightly. Your both sat like this a while, hugging, crying, whispering apologies to each other and comforting words. You felt so light, relieved that you don’t have to go through another tragedy in your life. You don’t know why it worked, but it doesn’t matter now, you’ll figure this out later. 

What matters now that your child is alive and you are are not wasting this chance for happiness. 

Not anymore.


	2. Icebound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "For good Dadtcher angst: Hat Kid getting frozen by Vanessa. Snatcher tries to save her, but just gets chained up for the effort." send by Anonymous
> 
> Warning: display of abusive behavior!

You knew it was a huge, huge mistake!

Why did you let the kid to go back to the manor?! 

What were she thinking? 

What were YOU thinking?!

Those stupid belongings of yours does not worth it! 

Sure, that would be nice to have something from you past, something from before you met Vanessa! 

Sure, the kid CONVINCED you that she will be okay and you BELIEVED because you knew what’s she is capable of! 

Your chest hurts so much as you stare at your kid, being imprisoned in ice with horrified expression on her face. She wasn’t lucky this time…

It’s your fault, it’s your fault, IT’S YOUR FAULT!

You’re pulling your hair, still trying to process that is happening for real, not a nightmare you're usually get. 

No, this is real.

What kind of parent you are!? You supposed to protect her, no matter how capable she is. You don’t deserve to have children if you can’t do your basic responsibilities as guardian! 

You look at the kid again, feeling like you are about to cry any second.Then you felt something... Her aura is still here, you can feel it, she not gone just yet. 

Do something, do something, DO SOMETHING!

Maybe you could use your soul fire to free her. You don’t know if this will work, but you must try. Carefully, you placed you trembling hands on sides of kid’s head. Then began focusing your soul fire on crystallized from. It’s seems working, the ice is thawing painfully slow. You’re thinking about speeding this up, but you never done this before. There is huge chance that you will burn her alive instead!

Okay, just be patient, just be patient, just be –

Something yanked you hair so hard, you cried out in pain. Then you were slammed against the wall. You felt ice forming around your wrists, chest, neck, even around your tail, pinning you effectively. 

You are trapped!

You open your eyes to look at attacker and there is no other than Vanessa herself. You wanted to scream at her, but panic squeezed your chest, a lump got caught in your throat.

“So, you decided to return home, my dear prince?” Vanessa laughed, her finger slowly trailing your face, a claw digging into your spectral from. You flinched, trying hard to not let a whimper. This is just like back then!

“It’s so nice to know, you haven’t forgotten about your queen~” you moved dangerously close to you, still “caressing” your face. You try to move away, but she chained you pretty hard, you can’t make any movements at all.

“L-let..” suddenly you’ve found your voice again.”Let the kid go!”

“Huh?” she tilted her head to the side, taunting you like she doesn’t know what you are talking about. Then she turned to the statue near you. “Oh, this kid?”

She moved to frozen, but still alive child. 

“Isn’t she lovely? Just look at her!” Vanessa gently pat kid’s top hat. Your soul is burning with anger.“So perfect, so unique! She is my favorite addition in my collection, why should I let her go?”

“I SAID LET HER GO!” you screamed, trying hard to break free. You summon your magic only to find that those icy bonds are draining your energy. Your eyes widened at realization, this is what probably happens to those who is trapped inside. No matter how powerful you are, the more you try to free yourself, the weaker you get until…

The kid is STILL alive, but her life is being drained from her body. She is strong, but she’s still a child. How long she can take?!

“Awww, just look at him!” Vanessa motioned on your direction, walking towards you again.”A heartless monster suddenly cares about little girl!” She moved dangerously close to you again. To close!

Don’t do this, don’t do this, don’t do this!

“You are so funny sometimes, Elias!” she chuckled.

Before you could protest, she kissed you. You let out a muffled scream, trying to pull away. Vanessa is holding you head tight, not letting you to move until she finished kissing you. You’re disgusted and terrified! She did this so many times when you are chained in the cellar! What’s wrong with this woman?!

“Hey…” she pulled away, smiling. “Do you remember how excited we were to have a child?”

Please, stop!

“Remember us, setting this baby room? Buying toys, books, clothing?”

Tears are forming in your eyes, but you refuse to shed them in front of this monster!

“Remember how you wanted a girl? How you just went and bought those cute little dresses for her? Like tiny replica of my favorite green dress, or this adorable dark witch outfit?”

Yes, your child loves those! 

“You know, Elias…If you really wanted a child–” she planted a kiss onto your cheek “ – you wouldn’t cheat on me!”

That made you snap, a scream full of hatred, full of pain and sorrow escaped filled the air. How many times you told her it didn’t happen?! How many time you told she misunderstood!? HOW MANY TIMES?!

Suddenly your body is set ablaze, the soul fire engulfing the entire corridor. Vanessa screamed in pain and quickly retreated. The bonds melted in seconds, you fell on the floor, but it didn’t stop. The fire still spreading, you still on the floor screaming. You can’t take this anymore, you want this end! 

Everything must end!

“SNATCHER!” a familiar voice pulled you from the firestorm of pain and emotions. You glanced to the side and saw your child, ALIVE, running to your side! You couldn’t believe your eyes. The fire must melted the remaining ice, allowing her to break free! It was enough for you to calm down a bit, your body isn’t being on fire anymore.

But your fires still spreading, eating everything on it’s path!

“We have to go!” she grabbed your arm and in flash you landed into mound on pillows in her bedroom.

Everything went quiet, only ship’s idly engine filling the silence. 

With relief you realized how much you are in pain. Your body hurts, looks like setting it on fire wasn’t a good idea. You chest hurts so much, from all magic you just used and all trauma you have to relive.

You didn’t noticed that you were sobbing and then before you could do anything you fell apart. Sobs turned into wails as you curled into a ball. The kid snuggled into you, holding you tight with her tiny hands. You wrapped your arms around her, gently caressing the back of her head with your fingers as if she the one who is crying right now.

Your were safe, your kid was safe, you both safe, and that’s all matters right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must say, I really like name "Elias" so I just couldn't resist ahaha))  
> Thank you for reading! <3


	3. Restless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Uhh for the prompts how bout...hat kid having a nightmare and going to snatcher abt it. Cuddles ensue (btw I love your writing and art so much, it makes my heart warm" send by abyssal-glory
> 
> Hah, this is my fav angst theme of all time, but I made things slightly different tho ;)  
> I hope you’ll like it anyway.

Hunger. 

It’s all you know, a constant hunger. 

To be more, to become bigger, stronger, so that ice witch would never lay a finger on you. You must kill more. Vengeance. Hunger.

You smell a new victim entering your forest. You move through shadows with grace towards your target. You gaze upon your prey and suddenly your core runs cold. It was her, your kid, is standing there. 

Your body moves on it’s own, slithering towards the little girl, like a hungry snake that ready to swallow its prey. You trying to stop this, but hunger is too much! The kid sees you and smiles, waving to you. 

No! Kiddo, run! 

You trying to warn her, to shoo her away, but instead of words only hissing escapes your throat.

You dangerously coil around her tiny body, there is no way she can run away now. Terror and guilt fills you, but you still trying to resist, trying to pull away. But the hunger is too much, too much, too much!

You loom over her dangerously. She looks up at you.

“Papa?” she tilts her head to the side, confused at what you are doing. Run, please run! Any normal person would be terrified at this moment. but not her. The kid loves you, she trusts you with her life. It was a mistake, a huge mistake! 

You watch in horror are your body open its mouth and —

Your eyes are wide open!

In few moments the horrible nightmare faded, revealing that you are not in the forest, but on spaceship. 

You’re currently laying in the mound of pillows, which became the usual spot for you to rest. You also noticed a blanket wrapped around you tightly. Right. Even though you don’t really need it, it’s still comforting being wrapped in something warm and soft. It makes your rest easier…but not this time.

You sigh heavily, you can’t get proper sleep for a week now. Night terrors are plaguing your mind. They always about the same thing: about you killing the kid. It doesn’t matter how, you always end up killing her and she…she never runs away, she never expects you to attack! 

You hate this so much, you still feel terrible about the fact that you tried to kill her in the past. She forgave you, but you can’t forgive yourself. You don’t deserve to be loved, but she thinks you do. You can’t move on, you just cant!

And what makes things worse that you still can hurt her by accident! This is what happened a week ago!

You wanted to help her to recover timepieces on unfamiliar planet. There was some corporate asshole, who wanted to use the timepiece for his selfish plans. He was…very much like Vanessa. Obsessive, possessive, entitled, just awful. He thought himself of hero while in reality he was just a garbage! 

That made you furious instantly, you lost your cool and, in few minutes, he was no more.

You took a timepiece, pleased with yourself, but then you saw the kid lying on the floor. Your core sank, you rushed to her side. She looked burned, did this asshole somehow got her? When did this happen? Thankfully, you always carry healing pons with you just in case. The kid sighed in relief when she got healed.

“What happened?!” you asked, still being in shock.

“Oh, I…um..” she looked at you apologetically.” When you got angry at this guy, you unleashed so many lasers! I couldn’t run out on them so quickly, I’m sorry!”

Your eyes widened, it was you! Being in rage, you completely forgot that she was in the room with you! You completely forgot that you need to be careful with your magic! You forgot! 

Kid suddenly hugged your you. Suddenly you became aware of how much you were shaking!

“It’s okay, it was accident!” she pleaded “I know you didn’t meant it! Please don’t be sad!”

“I COULD HAVE KILLED YOU!” you raised your voice, more than you expected. She flinched, but didn’t let go!

“Well…but you’ll be careful next time! Right?” 

Yes, after this you became more aware of your surroundings. You made sure that none of your projectiles are in the kids way. But guilt kept eating you away, you just wanted to burn yourself to the ground! 

And then those nightmares are started, constantly reminded you that you are horrible monster. You may lie to yourself, thinking that you can be happy, that you can live a fulfilling life. But deep down know that you’re just pretending.

Screw it, you are so, so tired right now. You closed your eyes and try sleeping again. But images of nightmare are still fresh in your restless mind.

Cursing under your breath, you get up. Still wrapped in blanket you float to kid’s bed. You stare at her sleeping form, carefully listening to her breathing. You just need to make sure she’s okay!

“Damn it, please, just let me live!” you whispered to yourself. You don’t wanna be afraid anymore, you’re so tired of this! 

“Snatcher?” the kid mumbled, her sleepy eyes are looking at you now.

Crap, how did you manage to wake her up?!

“Sorry, kiddo…” you look down, feeling even worse.

“Are you okay?” she asked, yawning.”You look so sad…”

“I…” you are not sure if you should tell her. Not because you think it’ll make you look weak, but because you don’t wanna burden her. She is a child, adults are not supposed to pour their emotions over small children. Your kid must focusing on growing up and having fun, not dealing with your trauma and fears!

“Did you had a nightmare?” well, she's always been smart!

You slowly nod.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

You shake your head this time. Again, you won’t burden her with this. Maybe when she’ll grows up, but not now.

Then you realized something: she’s mirroring you right now. When she has nightmares, you would ask her same questions. You would talk about this as you comfort her, holding her close.

The kid moves to the side of the bed, patting an empty space next to her. You still no sure, she better be resting right now.

“Kid, you should sleep, I’ll be okay.” you smiled weakly as you got up, trying to move back to pillow mound. But she quickly grabbed your blanket.

“But you always cuddle with me when I have a bad dream!” she’s pulling you back towards her.” Why can’t I do the same for you? It’s not fair!”

You turn around to see her pouting at you right now as she keeps pulling the blanket. You can’t help but chuckle a bit, she way too adorable. 

Looks like you can’t argue against this, you know she won’t let go now. So, you made yourself smaller to comfortably fit in her bed. Then you lay next to her, wrapping your blanket around both of you. She snuggles into your mane and lets out sigh of relief as you wrap your arms around her.

In few minutes she fell asleep, completely relaxed against you. You lay a bit longer, listening sounds of the spaceship and her breathing. Having her in your arms relaxed your tormented mind, allowing you finally slip into dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always wanted to play with idea that Snatcher still feels guilty after trying to killed Hat Kid.   
> I feel like it's gonna be hard for him to move on.


	4. Snowblind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just randomly came up with this idea and I couldn't help but sketch and write about it! :D

‘Curse you, Vanessa!’ you keep cursing this icy witch as you fly as fast as you can through raging blizzard that suddenly covered all Subcon. 

Sometimes it snows in Subcon because of Vanessa, but it never got this bad! It’s so freaking cold that flying snow feels like like tiny daggers digging into your body. You hate it so much, but you you have to keep moving. The kid is somewhere in the forest! 

You’re focusing on her weak aura, but it’s getting difficult. 

Vanessa’s magic has nasty effect of draining it’s victims. You already feel tired, too tired to dive into shadows, and your senses are weakening. Not to mention the strong wind blowing into your side makes flying harder. It’s really difficult to see as well, you can easily miss the kid! But you can’t stop, you must find the kid or she’ll freeze to death. You know exactly what it’s like and you don’t want the same for her!

You arrived at open area, you feel kid’s aura the strongest here. You trying to spot her, but you see nothing but snow. You know she’s here but where?! 

“KID!” you cried out, hoping she’ll hear you somehow “KID, WHERE ARE YOU?”

No response. 

Damn it, it hard to hear anything thought howling wind!

Panic quickly creeping into your core. She must got buried under the snow already. Cursing under you breath, moved closer to the ground, focusing more on her aura. But it’s like the snow itself dispersing her aura that you can’t just pinpoint her location. 

This is really bad!

In dispersion you start showing your hands into snow, hoping maybe you’ll stumble across her by luck. This futile though, by the time you’ll find her it will be too late!

“KIIID!” you scream as loud as you possibly can, but there is still no response. 

Refusing to believe it’s over, you keep shoveling the snow. Suddenly something caught your eye. There is something poking out of snow, just a little bit! You rushed towards it and showed your hands into the snow. 

A hat! 

You’ve found kid’s hat!

Instantly you searched around this arena and immediately your hands came across the child!

You pulled her out and took a closer look at her. She’s so pale, her lips turned blue. But worst thing that she was asleep! 

“No, no,no,no,no!” you muttered in fear. Falling asleep while freezing it’s a death trip you won’t wake up from! 

You coiled around the child, shielding her from the freezing wind. Then you pressed her against your chest as you redirected all of your energy into core’s fire, generating more heat. Additionally, you start quickly rubbing her back, trying to warm her up.

“C’mon, c’mon, kid!” you kept repeating same process until you noticed a movement! She stirred, then immediately proceed to bury her face and hands into your mane.

“Kid!” you exclaimed in relief, hugging her tightly. 

“Snatcher!” she weakly replied, hugging you back. “You’re so warm…and fluffy…”

Her voice trailed off, you noticed her relaxing against you. You slightly shook her, feeling bad when let out whine of protest.

“You can’t sleep, kiddo! Not until we’ll get to safety.” you look at her apologetically “Stay awake, please!”

“Okay..” she nod, getting tighter grip onto your mane.

You took her hat on one hand,then wrap it around the child while you placed your other hand onto her head, making sure you covering most of her from snow. Then you took off and headed towards your tree.

After few minutes of flying you noticed that you have no idea where you are! The blizzard got worse: you can’t see further your outstretched hand and you have to partially burying yourself into show to prevent being blown away.

You kept moving, hoping you can spot orange glow of your tree, but you see only white. You trying to spot auras of you minions, since they all sheltering there but you are too weak now. Your senses are numb, you don’t even feel snow against your body anymore. You are very close to passing out, keeping your core warm and flying eats all remaining strength you have.

Sure, if you pass out nothing will happen to you, but the kid will die and you can’t allow this to happen!

“Damn you, Vanessa!” you hissed, cursing her over and over. You collapsed into snow, trying to regain some energy to keep going. The kid squirmed a bit, then looked at you.

“Are we lost?” she asked, worry fills her voice.

You want to say “no”, you wanna say that you almost there, that safety is not far.

“Yes…” you croaked, disappointed in yourself. “I have idea where we are…”

“I’m sorry, I can’t teleport us in my ship.” she mumbled, sounding disappointed too.” This weather is messing my communications.”

That makes sense now why she was trapped in blizzard in first place.

After few moments, she spoke again.

“Try using my hat.”

You blinked in surprise.

“It shows me my goal or where I need to go if I lost.” 

You stare a top hat in your hand. I didn’t feel any special effects when you stole it back them. Still, you should try this again.

You put it on your head, holding it firmly so it won’t blown away. At first you felt nothing. That made you angry, you just wanna find your home! 

Suddenly, you felt a tug, pointing at something behind you. It turned your head around and while you couldn’t see anything, it felt like a right direction! Than gave you hope and this hope was enough energy for you to keep going. 

The only problem, you have to fly against the wind. You look down at the child.

“Kid, we gotta move again.” you adjust your grip on her, so you would hold her with one hand, while keeping the hat on your head with the other.” It’s gonna be unpleasant, but I try to be fast!”

She looked at you and nod, bracing herself.

You lift off and turn around, pushing against the wind with all your might. You can barely keep your eyes open it's miracle you didn't slammed into a tree. The kid is trembling from cold, snuggling into your chest. You holding her tight, feeling bad. It’ll over soon, you know it as you follow the direction the hat is showing you. 

In few agonizing minutes you spot a faint orange glow. That gave you even more strength! 

“We almost there kid! Hang on!” you can see your tree, and wow, that’s a lot of snow piled up on your barrier around it!

When you crossed the barrier you felt like you gonna collapse right into a pond but somehow you managed to stabilize yourself. Finally, no stupid snow flying into your face, no wind pushing you around and it’s warm!

“Look, boss is back!” “Yay, he did it!” “Yahoo!” cheering voices of your subordinates filled the air. You also noticed Dwellers twirling around, that’s actually a rare occasion when you can get any reaction from them. 

“You did it, Snatcher!” the kid in you arms cheered as well. You can’t help but smile.

You slowly moved inside the tree and flopped into your chair.

“Now we can rest.” you said weakly, drowsiness filling your eyes. You summon a blanket, wrapping it around both of you and getting comfortable. She relaxed, mumbling “thank you” before falling asleep. You look outside, noticing that blizzard began dying out. It almost like Vanessa realized that she can’t you now and retreating.

“Take that, bitch!” you whispered.” You can’t have us, you never will.”

You let out sigh of relief and closed your eyes.


	5. Ice Shard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst prompt: Hat Kid goes missing in Subcon. Filled with worry, Snatcher goes to investigate. He finds her eventually...but something's definitely wrong with her. She isn't acting like herself (A.k.a- She's being possessed) Snatcher can hear Hat Kid crying for help through the possession, but he's at a dilemma because he doesn't want to hurt her in the process of saving her (Sorry if this is too long! ^^') - send by nerdgeekcc
> 
> Also thanks to Nox for beta reading and edititng! <3

“She’s taking way too long...” you grumble as you pace back and forth inside your hollow tree. 

It was supposed to be an easy job: find one lost alchemy journal that used to belong to the florist from the frozen village. You could not go into that place yourself: just one look at the land coated in snow and ice and feeling freezing air were enough to send you into a spiral of panic. Even this warm cloak of yours wouldn’t help much in this situation.

That’s why you asked your kid to do it. She doesn't mind since it’s not near that cursed manor. And she was supposed to be BACK by now!

You sigh and focus on the nearby auras: you could sense your minions, a few living creatures that still lived in half-dead forest, and you can sense the kid. She is still there, alive and fine.

Still, it doesn't sit right for some reason.

Alright, you’re just gonna go and take a quick look! The kid is probably fine, she’s probably taking too long because she’s looking in every house or something.

You fly fast, driven by worry and fear. It’s probably fine, you are worrying too much!

You reach the broken bridge. The icy sight is making your metaphorical stomach turn. It’s fine, this is fine! You look in the distance and see Hat Kid. She’s right there, but something is wrong. 

Hat Kid is walking around in circles, her shoulders slumped, almost stumbling with each step she takes, her eyes unfocused. 

You must check on her. Yes, that means going into this forsaken place! With a deep breath you dash forward, trying not to focus on the biting cold. 

“Hey, kiddo!” You try to mask your growing anxiety.”What’s taking you so long? I almost thought you decided to live here!”

No answer from her. You frown, she’s usually quick with witty remarks. You float in front of her.

“Kiddo? Hello, are you there?” you wave your hand in front of her unfocused eyes. Suddenly, they focus on you, and you don’t like this stare. Her gaze is full of icy anger; you know this gaze way too well!

“No...” You flinch back. It can’t be!

“Elias,” she says. There is no way the kid would know your real name! It could only be Vanessa...but how?!

“You dirty TRAITOR!” she screams and attacks, throwing some ice shards in your direction. You try to dodge, but one shard impales your right shoulder. You hiss in pain, reaching up to pull it out. You hear something coming from below; in the next second, an ice spike shoots out the ground. You dash to the left, barely dodging it and damaging your cloak instead.

“WHAT DID YOU DO THE KID?!” you scream, glaring now at your possessed child. 

Vanessa laughs in the kid’s voice, making you feel sick.

”Oh, nothing much!” she sends another ice barrage at you. Several of the shards managed to scratch you this time. ”Just a little ice and she’s mine! Do you like it?”

Suddenly, something heavy hits you from the back with such force that it sends you flying across and hitting one of the buildings upon landing. 

The panic is getting worse. You start breathing hard, feeling like you’re suffocating despite the fact that you don't need oxygen anymore. You feel the shackles on your arms, chains around your body, a sharp pain where your legs would be if you still had any. You tremble hard as the cold becomes unbearable, making your right shoulder hurt worse.

Suddenly, out of nowhere something draws your attention away from your panic-driven state. You feel like something is calling, begging for help, feel like crying and screaming. But those feelings aren’t yours, no, you recognize the aura - that’s the kid! Vanessa must have masked her presence within Hat Kid’s aura and made it seem like the child was okay, but now that she’s revealed herself, you can feel the kid is desperately crying for help!

You growl, and despite shaking like a leaf in the wind, you manage to get up. There is no way you will allow this. _ No one _ hurts your kid!

You move forward, focusing on the child. Vanessa shoots more ice shards at you but it doesn’t stop you. When you get close enough, you grab the kid’s hands as you try your best to inspect her, trying to find something that Vanessa could use to control her.

The task proves to be difficult as Vanessa keeps squirming, shooting more ice at you and slashing your face. But then you notice a small glint in her left eye. You look closely and see a tiny ice shard stuck in there! 

That’s it! But how are you supposed to get rid of it?! The shard is way too small! You can easily hurt her eye by accident! You could shapeshift into your kid form, but it wouldn’t make it easier, and anyway, you cannot become small. Your own core is preventing it. You cannot use magic as well, the risk of damaging the kid’s eye is even higher in this case!

No option sounds good, but you have to act  _ now. _

You coil around her tiny form, making sure she won't be able to move, then grab her head with right hand. Holding it still, you use your fingers to gently keep the left eye open, using your free hand to try to remove the cursed shard.

“What you think you are doing?!” Vanessa screams through Hat Kid. “You think you can take my new toy away, just like that?!” Icy spikes burst from the ground underneath you, stabbing into your tail. Somehow, you ignore the pain as you pinch the tiny shard between very tips of your talons.

“Don’t you dare, Elias!” the icy witch screams as you carefully pull the shard out of Hat Kid’s eye. Suddenly, kid’s body goes limp.

_ Looks like it worked.  _ You relax your tail and lift the child into your arms. She’s clearly unconscious, but alive. You bring her closer to your chest and wrap your cloak around her for extra warmth, then teleport to her spaceship, away from this cursed place.

You sit on the kid’s bedroom’s floor, cradling her close. Now that the danger has passed, you become aware of the severity of your injuries. You hiss in pain, but it’s not that bad, nothing that sleeping in warm blankets can’t fix. 

You feel tears rolling down your face as you realise you could have lost the kid for good! With a deep sigh, you wipe them away, feeling relieved that it didn't happen.

You feel the child squirming in your hold. She opens her eyes and looks at you.

“Dad?” she asks softly, sounding like she’s just woken up from slumber. That’s a good sign, maybe, if you’re lucky, she won’t remember this whole mess.

“Hey, kiddo,” you say gently as you take her hat and set it on the floor, then start caressing her head. “How do you feel?”

“I’m okay...?” she sounds a bit confused at the odd question, but then she looks up at you and gasps. “What happened to you?!”

Crap, you forgot that Vanessa sliced up your face and shoulder. There is no way Hat Kid cannot see this.

“Ah, I had a little chit-chat with our favorite Miss Ice-To-Meet-You. Do you remember anything that happened in frozen village?” Secretly, you really, really hope she doesn’t.

“I...well, no. I only remember stepping out of a house and then suddenly a gust of wind blew into my face and something...got into my eye?” she explains, unsure what else to say.”Did something bad happen? Did Vanessa come and...?” she trails off, afraid to assume the worst.

“Well she came, but I took care of her!” That actually makes you a bit proud of yourself. Normally you cannot do anything against her as fear paralyzes you completely, but seems like you can muster a spark of courage if someone close to you is in danger. “Don’t worry about it...and let's never go near that frozen village again, okay?”

She hugs you tightly, burying her face into your mane. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find the journal…”

“Shhh…” you kiss the top of her head. ”It’s okay, it’s not that important anymore.”

You sit like this for a while, enjoying the positive contact and being glad that your child is safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I was thinking about Moonjumper first bc he's a puppetteer but then I remebered "Snow Queen" fairytale and I got this idea!)  
> Thank you fro reading ^^


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